Seal.



D. D. DAVIS.

SEAL.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 24, 1911.

1 ,O25,081 PatentedApr. 30, 1912.

WIT N ESSES: WWW

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE.

nor: 1:. navrs, or sacmaw, macaroni.

sitar...

Specification r Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

. Application tiled ju ne 24, 1911. 8erial lo. 685,097.

To cll whom it niay concern: a Be it known that I, Don. D. DAVIS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, Saginaw county,Michigan, have 1n,

- character,

vented new and useful Improvements in dling.

the strap.

A further object is to p'rovide .a seal,- the strap of which cannot becut and the severed and readily reinserted in the lock Still anotherobject is to render it difii cult, if not impossible, to unfasten theseal after it has been locked, without severing A still further objectis the provision of an efficient seal which is more readily applied andlocked.

.' Other objects and advantages will be more fully set forth hereinafterand particu-' larly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view, showingone embodi-' ment of the invention, the locking mechanism beingdisassembled. Fig. 2 is a section showing the latch, about to be trippedby the free end of the strap. Fig. 3 shows the latch tripped, the sealbeing locked. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken at right angles to Fig.3. Fig. 5 is a detail pers ective of the mount o'r carrier, with thelate in readiness to operate. Fig. 6 is a detail showing one meansfor-holdin the mount in place in the casing. Fig. 7 is a perspective ofa mount of a slightly modified form. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectiontherethrough, and Fig. 9 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2 showingthe strap arranged to enter the casing at the opposite end from thatshown in Fig. 2.

The seal illustrated comprises a strap 1 having a locking aperture 2 ator near one end, which end is entered and locked in a housing or casingat the opposite end of the strap. Said housing, in the present instance,comprises a pair of pockets 3 and 4, ti. open ends of which areregistered to form a chamber within which to conceal the lockingmechanism said. mechanism being this protected against injury. Thepocket3 may be 'formedvat one end of the strap, said pocket being laterallyflanged, as at 6, 6 to form seats on which the edges 7 projecting fro];the base 80f. pocket 4, rest. The outere ges '0f the flanges 6 'may bebent,

crimped-or folded over said edges 7 to secure the pockets together andprevent the introduction of seal-picking tools. A flange =9 closes thespace between the ockets at one -end, to prevent access to the ockingchamber,- the opposite end of the chamber being left open-to admit thefree end of the strap 1. Within said chamber is a mount or carrier heldstationary in a seat formed between the base 8 and the flanges 6 of therespective pockets, said -mount comprising a pair of preferably, alongone side as at 12, to form -a throat. The outer ends of the guidesprognides 10 and 11 folded together,

ject through the, open end of the casing or a chamber to form guide lips1 at least one of whichmay diverge from t e other, as at 14, tofacilitate the insertion of the free endof the strap there between. .A.lug 15 on said. mount lies in a recess 16 formed, preferably, in one ofthe edges 7 of the pocket 4 to secure the mount against shifting in thecasing, and prevent its withdrawal there-' from. To these ends both thelug and its recess lie transversely to' the path of travel of the freeend of the strap', when the latter is inserted in the housing.

A spring latch 18 isloosely held between the walls of .a' guide slot 17extending longitudinally of the mount. In the present instance, saidlatch comprises a resilient coil lying1 in .the registering whip passacross each other and project away from the coil said ends lyingopposite each other and being substantially U-shaped, the concaveportions of which open toward each other, and terminating in catchfingers 19 normally pressing toward each other against the outer facesof the respective guides 10 and 11. The free end of the strap, wheninserted between the guides, passes between the V-shaped ends of thelatch and strikes the coil to force the entire latch backwardly alongthe guide slot until finally th catch fingers slip off the guides intothe slot, at which time the locking aplerture 2 has been brought-intoregistry wit and of the slots, the ends of the forward slot, whereuponthe fingers snap through the aperture from opposite directions andoverlap, to lock the free end of the strap against withdrawal from thehousing. The latch approximates a figure 8 in shape. Attemptedwithdrawal will operate tobring the fingers against the end walls of theregistering slots 17 in the guides to prevent the release of the strap.The latch is held in readiness to operate and prevented from lateraldisplacement (other than by the of an article into the housing) blongitudina y along one or both sides of the slots in the guidm, whichwalls restrain the latch to a path longitudinall of the slot, Said wallsextend in op osite 'rect-ions into the respective pockets. y thisconstruction, the latch, when once adjusted for operation, remains inposition until dis laced by the insertion of the strap into the housing,even though the seals may be roughly handled,

and said'walls also prevent access of a pick or other tool to the latch.By mounting the cylindrical coils or body of the latch in the s ots 17two separate points of contact are provided which tend to prevent latchdisplacement of the latch. To prevent the strap from being out and thesevered end inserted in the casing, the free end of said strap has alug, tooth or stop 21 thereon, which would ave to be removed. The pocket4 maybe applied to pocketv 3 in such a manner that the, entrance to thecasing is at the extreme end of the seal, or at the stra end of thehousing (see Fig. 9). In t e.former case, the strap may be entered inthe housing from either side (in the drawing in dotted lines in Fig. 2),nor is-it necessary to rotate or turn the seal to bring the strap andopening into line. With the opening at the strap end of the housing,the.

free end of the strap can only be inserted when bent in one direction.

In Figs. 7 and 8, a sli ht modification of the carrier or mount is 'sown, the fold conmeeting the two ides 10, 11, beingat the rear or inneren instead ofalong one side, as in Fig. 4. In this form, the fasteninglug 15, is at the rear end of the guide member, instead oflat the side.

What I claim as new, is

1. In a car seal, the combination wi h. a,

flexible strap having an aperture near one end, and ahousing or casinsecured to the opposite end, and into whic the apertured end of thestrap is inserted, of a mount stationary the casing, comprising asubstantially -U-shaped or folded member formed with alongitudinally-extending confining walls 20 extending latch supported bythe mount and ing, and

slot in the upper and lower leaves thereof,

a latch having catch fingers suv ported on the mount, the body-portionof e latch l at the forward end of the slot in the pa 0 the inserted endof the flexible strap to be contacted thereby, and shifted al the slotuntil the catch fingers pass ofi of t mount.- and snap into the lockingaperture, and projecting e unt. to prevent accidental dislocation of thelatch confining walls on the mount above the plane of the slot and of tby guiding the body-portion thereof preventing lateral movement.

2. In a seal, the combination with a ble strap having a locking openingnear itsfree end, of a flanged housin at its opposite end provided witha sing e entrance, 1! carrier stationary within the housing and formedindependently of the strap, a latch on the carrier in'position to bestruck and tripped by the free end of the strap when inserted in thehousing to lock the strap in the housing, and a transversely prog'ect'lug on said carrier seated in a recess onn in the housing and extendingat an angle to the path of travel of the strap when inserted in thehousing, to hold said carrier stationary.

3. A car seal comprising a flexible strap having a locking opening nearone end and a housing at its 0 posite end, a mount within the housing,an latch comprising a substantially annular resilient coil, the ends ofthe coil crossing and projecting away from the coil and from each other,and finally curving toward each.

other to form opposing catch fingerswhich tend to enter' the'lockingopening and overlap to hold the free end of the strap, the latchapproximating a figure 8 in shape.

4. In a seal,'the combination with a strap having a-housing at one end,and a locking a latch on the mount, said opening near its opposite end,said last--,

named end adapted for insertion within the housing, of a stationarymount or carrier within the housing and having a slot, a

l m the slot in position to be tripped by 32in end of the strap to lockthe strap in the ho sguides on the mount other than the edges of theslot, to hold the'latch against accidental displacement.

In testimony whereof, I have my name hereto, in the presence ofwitnesses.

DON D. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK J. KELLEY, JOSEPH TROY.

